Turassian Orthodox Pantheon
"In the begining of the exsistance of this universe and all things we know started with the womb of Chaos that spawned our great god Kles'Gau... his powers were destructive... yet life-giving." -First lines of the Epic: Taknois nau'Taknois (The Creater Uncreated) =Maxin= The realm of the gods is known as the Maxin. It was here that Gau'Kles was first born into, and it was here every ancient god was spawned. They are endless fields where great temples and monuments built long before even Gau'Kles had came from Chaos. Many abandoned temples depict strange, terrible gods with bloodied altars and horrible statues. However in their idea Gau'Kles as well as the other divine ones built their own temples in their own fashion, where they now reside. These lands are calm and tranquil where night is forever and the sky is marked with alien stars, yet strangly it is warm enough to hold life. Major Deities Gau'Kles: The elder of all the deities, Gau'Kles created all the divinities with long forgotten magick. Gau'Kles was not exactly a kind god, he demanded bloody sacrifice from those he created, forming mortal creatures in sweat drops who he demanded to pay tribute to his glory with their lives. He forbade them from learning, and stole their fires with terrible wind. Yet for their obedience he was kind to them, and offered gifts to the most devout. He knew that there were soon to be too many lives for him to manage alone, so he formed his apprentice god; Vulz Yamont. This proved to be his last creation as Vulz Yamont learned from ancient texts in abandoned temples, and thus had the power to overthrow his father with great ease. It is said that all that remains of this million eyes god are the moons of the worlds, where he shall forever watch over mortals. He is depicted in living form as a inhuman creature who's head is made entirely of eyes baring a mouth with filed teeth, and a great gray beard atop a muscular yellow body where eyes sit in the palms of his hands and hour glasses on the hands. Attanna: The current queen of the Maxin, she is the goddess of sun. It was her mistake that burnt a hole so deep in the Maxin that the fires shot out into a new realm of existence and now linger. She is known to be the mightiest deity the Maxin has to offer now, who can put to death any being in the universe (Vor'Shan worshippers argue against her ability to destroy Vulz Yamont) with the greatest of ease. She is the matron goddess of Loshedanda, and all emperors have a symbolic marriage to her by taking a Priestess as his bride (he is the only man who bares this privilege), as well as sheathing the "Blade of Attanna" on his belt. Attanna is depicted as a red haired humanlike goddess with fair skin, orange eyes, and great beauty. Her priests and priestesses are dressed in fine togae or stollae (long dresses that extend to the ankles) with a golden tiara, many jewels, anklets, bracelet, and must never go without light of some sort around them; and to be in the shadows without a candles on their own will is almost as bad as giving up their virginity chaste, which could result into a terrible curse from a nymph. Tyurz: Seemingly originally a Pars (a mountain tribe of humans) god of war, Tyurz is now the god of war for the Maxin. He is depicted as a great gray bull who doubles over as an entertainer. Tyurz is physically the strongest of all gods yet one of the more savage. His priests are required to hide their faces in veils dressing for modesty as well as concealment. Priests of Tyurz may not show emotion to anyone unless it is a family member if they wish to be unstoppable in war. He is said to be a god of reincarnation as well, as his mortal lovers die and reincarnate. Tyurz is feared even to the Maxin-worshippers, as his unstoppable might can tear apart empires. Tyurz in the days before Turas was invented by Gau'Kles to be not only his personal guardian, but an entertainer whom all the gods would laugh at. Jort: Father of Orcs, and the assassin of the heavens, Jort wields the mightiest force in the universe just behind Attanna's sun. His skin is ebony, his Orcish features are plenty, often depicted as bald draped with many golden luxuries, Jort is too one of the more respected of the divine. The clouds bend to his will, and rain comes on his desire, and thus Orcs will offer the bones of their fallen enemies in a great fire to call rain in dry times. Jort demands nothing from living sacrifices, only the dead and the defeated may be worthy to be offered to Jort as he sits atop a throne of decomposing remains and bones. Dezshiikal: She is the lady of love, bringer of fertility, lasher of whips, and foster of broken hearts. Dezshiikal can bring either the most tender and warm love, or the most cruel and vicious depression. She lives by the philosophy that no rose comes without a thorn, and no thorn comes without a puncture. She is depicted by various artists in many ways, most famously as a lady with long golden hair, fair skin, blue eyes, naked, with perfect features wandering a rich man's garden. Her worship is upheld solely by lust, as priestesses and priests live in her temples dressed in ways that leave little to the imagination, luxuries a many, and honeyed perfumes that their skin bathes in, feeling it is their need to spread the love of their matron deity. Firkhal: To whom all hunters that worship the Maxin pray is Firkhal. By her will instinct will be favorable, and thus the feral-folk still survive in a time of change. She depicted as a beautiful lady dressed in animal hides with a great lion's head hanging over one shoulder, hands and feet always bare of concealment as they represent her talons and claws. Her druids hold true to no chastity code, and are expected to act upon instinct wearing the formal attire of her greatness. They are allowed to hunt with any weapon they so desire, but naturally the most common is a short bow as it is cheap and easy to make. Firkhal is said to be the founder of the Jade Lands while her sister, Ren'Chli created it. Ren'Chli: Twin sister of Firkhal, vicious rival of Ghuf'hoin. She is the goddess of all things plant and the seasons. In the spring her skin is dusky, her hair of leaves are golden yellow, red flowers sprout behind her ears, and eyes are blue. When summer comes her leaf-hairs become green and lively, skin is black, and eyes are violet. Autumn comes, and her hair becomes brown, skin now lighter, eyes are red, it is during this time she grows sad. Winter comes and her skin is as white as snow, gray haired (yet still retains her godly youth), orange eyes, and her power is at its weakest. Ren'Chli is hateful to those that destroy trees without proper prayer, it is said when the Soutcoj awaken she will be drained of her might and six years will pass when the world will be held in autumn before winter overtakes the world until the end of days. Her druids are forbidden to eat meat, and must live by a strict set of codes known as "Vhali Siiv'hk." They live in garden-glens where stones are aligned in circles, cloaks go over their head and the sickle is held by them. Chog: The defender of all creatures born in Turas that hold true to the Maxin, armed with a bow, and tall, it was he who was known as Chog. Chog is armed with his bow at all times. Chog is depicted as a hermaphrodite with long golden locks, a woman's curve, man's muscle, black eyes, naked, and with an entourage of Nymphae at all times. His worship rituals are mysterious as the scions keep it held in shades from the common eye, all that can be said is that when his holy days come drums beat all night to the lament of great ecstasy. His scions hold to no dress code and must all perfect themselves with the keen-eyed shots missing little with javelins, bows, and crossbows. E'Nag: A god of debauchery, alcohol, celebration, and ecstasy. E'Nag has been known to have inherited the cruel, angry side of Gau'Kles where if his celebrations go interrupted a terrible curse will be placed over the interloper. He demands blood sacrifice in a cannibalistic fashion, the liver of the sacrificed are to be eaten on the holiest of his holidays. Other than his great rage, he bares great celebrations, where various brews of alcohol are spread across the parties, where the worshippers merely let the night take them. There is no priestly order devoted to this god, as E'Nag has stated that no man is greater than another, and thus all men must celebrate the same, yet all followers of this god carry on his will without question which is read by a Haruspex (most often of Rane). Graz'Muka and Gras'Mula: The twins of justice, they were originally the vassal children of Jort who would judge weak souls to damnation for eternity and the strong to live in the war fields with Jort. Upon assimilation into the Orthodox pantheon they become the judges of who would find themselves where. Because of this they (like Ren'Chli and Firkhal) can be placed into the Jade Lands (the third pantheon). They hold true to no order of divinities, and fit souls who lived their lives in service to their god in the palace of said god, those who did not live true find themselves in the Jade Lands or in another palace. Their priests are rare and few, but mysterious as they possess the cosmic wisdom and intellect on-level with the Orcish leaders. They are depicted as Orcs armed with hammers, and said to be beautiful by Orcish standards. They wear no clothing, painted in mystic runes. Rane: Mother goddess, and ex-queen of the Maxin. In her life she was married to Gau'Kles and carried a much kinder attitude than her husband, often fixing his mistakes as a result of the incredable rage. She, like her husband had been put down by the forces of Vulz Yamont in the celestial wars, thuogh she was executed from Oyzulot, who drank her blood and became a great deity. Rane had been saved by Firkhal, who then had her ressurected using her son Yorsif's mighty magick. Upon her revival she lost the ability to speak, and only new souls could escape her mouth, and fates of mortals would come from these. It was as if Gau'Kles had given his powers of creation to his beloved. Rane is now depicted as a gray, yet youthly woman with silver hair, gray eyes, and wearing a transparent gray silk veil that covers her body as she threads new life. She has no sect of formal priests, and her Nymphae that followed her in the days of old have gone rogue, twisting themselves into followers of Eucretian. Voral: Had Voral not played such a large part in the rise of the Elves in the Antiquity, she would be a minor goddess, but legends tell of her priestesses summoning great chronomantic powers, and defeating a great evil that threatened the empire. They had proven their goddess was a great goddess of time as well, and her nymphae are her reapers. She is depicted as a young goddess just barely of marrying age, with short red hair and a great purple stolla matched off with a transparent veil. Her priestesses wear the same in their all female cult to the god-head. Helal: It is she who wears the horns of a bull upon her helmet, Helal is she who is the goddess of stratagy and the epic poems that follow each war. Bards sing not only to the muses but to her. She is a strong goddess who gives her followers courage and wit beyond their natural born ability, and even devout followers of Tyurz pay a tribute to her in war. She often rivals Tyurz, and even wars between the two's followers have been known, and as told by the great Epic "Basqibba Tarin, Orsovi Rhyaf" (Epic of Tarin the conquer from Rhya) it is usually Tyurz that comes out of such victorius, but it is known for the Juggernaughts of Helal to have victory over the Tyurites. Her only priesthood consists of "The Juggernaughts of Helal" who serve as mercenaries dressed in thick armor, trained to fight with many types of weapons. She is depicted as a goddess with a horned helmet wearing thick chains about her figure weilding a long sword and a shield. Ishman: Creater god and inventer, he was the origonal joint-heir to the throne as the ruler of the Maxin (next to Vuls Yamont) should Gau'Kles be slain, but it was his plot that drove Vulz Yamont and his band of gods to betrayal. Ishman redeemed himself by fighting valiantly for the Maxin creating weapons and armor for his comrades, but that still was noy enough to redeem his name. He went into hiding from then on, and his celestian temple's gates now remain closed as he tinkers away giving man only his discarded inventions. He has a priestly order of tinkerers who sell their goods to the common man, and live no chaste or dress code. Ishman is depicted as an Etedhad man armored in cow's hide. Lorishan: The favorite god of most Nymphae, the most beautiful male god, and poetic. He is depicted as a youthful man with long flowing curley hair, starry eyed, and smooth skin. His great looks came with a price, as he is a bitter soul who is easily offended, and even gods find themselves watching themselves to critisize him. His Nymph band are the Muses, who dabble in the creative and scientific arts. All Manxin-faring poets envoke the muse or Lorishan's divine words before singing their tale, else they cast a curse upon their audiance if the audiance finds any joy in the poetry. Lorishan is most known for being arrogant to the divinites and such arrogance caused them to hex him, Vulz Yamont himself delivered the hexing fruit and soon Lorishan grew bitter and judgemental of his own works. =Vor'Shan= In the begining it was a vast void sucking the souls of all lesser beings into its vortex, but Vulz Yamont had put an end to that, taming the great winds. Vor'Shan is a large realm now, nearly endless just as the Maxin. It is always warm here, and alien energies fuel all things, great temples stand erect with golden-nectar bubbling freely from Gold Roses. Those who live here eventually mutate into warriors for Vor'Shan, ugly or lovely depends on the god taking favor in them. The gods council atop a great mountain where they kneel to Vulz Yamont who kneels to none, not even the great god god of Thunder, Jort. Vor'Shan has various parts to it, the great desert that spans farther than the eye can see, even if traveled for a hundred days, the great garden that is nearly the size of Turas its self, the jungle, which is said to hold a portal to the Jade Lands, and the plains. The great mountain Kh'zinthi'fhajkal where the gods meet is located in the desert in a part where storms never calm, and lightening strikes mortal souls unworthy to step foot on the holy place. Major Deities Vulz Yamont: The great bringer of Vor'Shan, and the rebel of the Maxin. He is said to have been with Ishman as the heir to the throne of Gau'Kles, but when his intentions were made clear by his betrayal Ishman felt guilt and split from his plan. Vulz Yamont is hated by all Maxin worshippers and loved by all Vor'Shan worshippers. He and Ishman had planned to overthrow their father by means of violence. Vulz Yamont took it upon himself to decapitate the great god with the use of a great axe, and then to further his attempts at power he had almost forced Attanna to become his mate, had her flames not been strong enough he would have suceeded. Vulz Yamont, unlike all other gods, demands no sacrifice of blood to be made in his name, feeling that their devotion is more than enough. He is depicted as a man who wears great red spined armor and a crown fit for an emperor wielding a large axe stained with the blood of Gau'Kles. His priests are to always cover their face in veils, and must listen to no one ruler unless he possesses divine right by Vulz Yamont himself. He offers to his followers great strength in battle as well as powerful magick. Vulz Yamont is said to be the most powerful entity in the known universe, rivaling even Attanna. Vulz Yamont is noted as probably the least cruel god of any pantheon when it comes to heresy, and it is shown by his worshippers who are forbidden to slay anything willingly unless they pray to the memory of Gau'Kles. Eucretian: A beasst older than time its self, able to take upon any form it so desires, and will often walk streets of great cities as a very strange or often ugly man. This has birthed the phrase to reply to one who is decided rude, "What are you, Eucretian?" Eucretian is in its most primal form to have eyes like the golden sun burning through the thickest of fog. Eucretian hold might so great that upon looking at it in the most primal form sailors are sent into a hysterical state of insanity afraid of even their own shadows, yet those chosen by the great beast become prophets. The prophets of Eucretian spread the words of the beast personally, most say it is a beast older than Gau'Kles and had dwelt in the Maxin's temples with an older sect of gods that were far superior to all that live now save for Vulz Yamont. Myths of this beast are never kind, tentacles tear ships apart, sharks act under a possessed spell and tear the sailors to death. Others say a great insectoid with golden eyes thrashes the masts. Eucretian holds no place in the mythology sagas of the heavens save for mentions of an anciant tale in one sentance, "As Tyurz had torn down the Vanguard of the rebel forces a great golden glare was seen from afar, it was as if a large mantis rose in the shadows before all at once vanishing, now look and behold the followers of Vor'Shan fleeing." There is no formal clergy of Eucretian recognized by any nation. Oyzulot: The daughter and sometimes lover of the loving Vulz Yamont, Oyzulot is a goddess born entirely from mystery. Oyzulot derives her name from an ancient Baluba dialect: Oy-zou-loa meaning "Born in the night, she of ice." Oyzulot is a lusty goddess who often seduces mortals, and will convert them to Vor'Shan worship over a block of time. The first known text mentioning her traces back to the ancient Raxic Culture where she is mentioned as a minor fertility goddess of those who persue adultry. She still functions in foiling adulterers, and they will curse her name when the woman becomes pregnant. Oyzulot appears all over myths often bringing chaos a-kin to E'nag, however she unlike E'nag can create a placid feeling as well. Oyzulot is depicted in many forms, but the most common since the reign of Loshedanda was making her appear as a tall, pale human with long black hair and embers burning in her trail at day, but snow at night. Oyzulot holds her own special kin of Nymphae whom infiltrate other sects of Nymph orders to cause chaos. Her priestesses are often confused for common prostitutes, even though they always dress in a strange manner, if dressed at all. Azwert: A goddess as old as Eucretian, Azwert is the brood-mother of the Azvert. Her will is absolute, and can bend the mind of mortals of any race. Her worship is one bent on fear, those who are devoted to her yet pay not the blood tribute will find themselves doomed by a heavy curse where spiders, roaches, ants, or bees will nest themselves in the house of the impure in mass. Usually that person is executed by the priests. Azwert is depicted as an ancient mantis-like cockroach with spider fangs and a scorpion's tail, generally mortals fear her worship all-togeather save for her children the Azvert inwhich little is known, other than they are a semi-hiveminded. Her humanoid worshipers seem to be emotionless, dull, morbid, and free of lust, wearing bear-hides and turtle shells. She is mentioned though-out the Orthodox mythos and some fourth-Pantheon mythos as a being who lays beneath the earth waiting for the awakening of the fearless Soutcoj, and it will be against them she shall fight, banded with even her most hated of enemies. Tehachuan: A god of honor, deception, and cunning combat. Tehachuan rivals Tyurz or Helal in all their intentions, and while the Maxin gods of war preach mercy only to those that are helpless Tehachuan preaches no mercy to males of any age or leaders of the enemies. His disciples fight honorably in battle feeling that is the only proper way to achieve victory over sin, and often they live by life-long set codes of honor that last with them until their final battle. All disciples of Tehachuan prefer to die in battle or in a duel, so in countries with Vor'Shan worship as their primary worship is it common for duels to the death to break out between the elderly. Tehachuan himself is depicted as a tall man with long black hair bound by hemp, and silken armor whilst weilding a large claymore. He holds a sect of nymphae, whom are warrior ladies that take form of birds when there is no battle, yet when war breaks out tey will enter the fray in the midst of the chaos. Ghuf'hoin: The Vor'Shan Orthodoxism preaches that first Gau'Kles had made his first generation, and Ghuf'hoin was made entirely by accident, yet Ghuf'hoin held true to his father's power he was always disfavored by all divinities save for Vulz Yamont and his followers. Soon Ghuf'hoin rose in the ranks with Vulz'Yamont and when the rebellions had occured Ghuf'hoin was promised to be in the top-six. Ghuf'hoin is depicted as a very malformed, lame, and ugly god covered in leaves, and like his "sister" Ren'Chli his hair is leaves, yet his are perminatly orange or crispy brown. Ghuf'hoin holds a well like amongst mortals, even those of the Maxin beliefs praise him, for without Ghuf'hoin growth would be far slower. Ghuf'hoin holds a romantic and often tragic tale of his many love interests and the harsh denials he has recieved. His clergy is based around an ancestor reverance, and peservation of forests, often his druids dwell deep in forest-glens and only exit for blood sacrifice. Category:Turas